RUSSIAN CIRCLES - Memorial

Despite a discography that's overall more average than outstanding, Russian Circles remain one of the most singular and honorable presences in the instrumental tradition that has taken shape over the last decade. At the risk of repeating myself, the Chicago trio's full-length debut was an unprecedented revelation and laid the foundations for a career with an unmistakable sound, even amid uneven results. As of two years ago, “Empros” could plausibly have been their last "good" shot, the sign of a discouraging stylistic decline eclipsed only by their live shows, where the band consistently demonstrates the full greatness of what they do.

But the worry about approaching their fifth studio effort vanishes within moments: “Memorial” – released by Sargent House and streamable on Bandcamp – is without a doubt their most convincing work in over five years, finding them as inspired and fierce as (and perhaps more than) they were at the start. The airy contemplation of the prologue is swiftly swept away by the muscular power of “Deficit”, practically an instant classic: it's also the first of several tracks where you can distinctly sense a contamination with certain classic black metal stylistic traits, dense textures of distortion dominated by the weight of minor tonalities. Dave Turncrantz's drumming, though having almost entirely abandoned certain eccentric touches, still finds room to embellish its square rhythms with brass-like flourishes – all while hitting the drums harder than ever.

“Cheyenne” sits at the heart of the journey as a typically post-rock episode – with reverb-drenched strumming and a scratchy bass in the style of Mogwai – before the pitch-black darkness of “Burial”, where the muted sludge riffs recorded onto Mike Sullivan's loop station once again take over. Overall, the band has gradually built an authentically epic sound, reaching its peak in the impassioned theme of “Ethel”, woven together by the tapping that has always distinguished the guitarist's technique, while the drummer digs in with a solemn march into the bass drum. The epilogue is a new eponymous track featuring a brief appearance from goth nymphet Chelsea Wolfe, a dispensable element, but one that doesn't feel out of place as a closing credit.

Russian Circles rediscover their taste for building complex yet thoroughly tangible atmospheres, with climaxes and anti-climaxes that tend to unfold between tracks rather than within them. And in under forty minutes, they celebrate the memorial of their finest artistic moment, with a straightforwardness – and at the same time an impact – that fully restores faith in their future. Welcome back, truly.

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02/11/2013